Thirty drilling permits were issued, 14 wells were drilled, and two wells were plugged and abandoned in 2008. Ridgeway Arizona Oil Corporation permitted 27 wells, drilled 13 wells, and plugged two wells at its CO2 project between St Johns and Springerville. Wind River II Corporation permitted two wells in northwestern Arizona, the #10-1 Ft Pierce Federal and the #18-1D Dutchman Federal. Wind River drilled the #10-1 Ft Pierce to a total depth of 5006 ft in the Devonian Temple Butte formation. Wind River suspended the #10-1 Ft Pierce well after testing and logging Mississippian and Permian formations and postponed the drilling of the #18-1D Dutchman. APS (Arizona Public Service) permitted the #1 Cholla CO2 Test Fee to a proposed total depth of 4500 ft near the Cholla power plant. The Cholla test is designed to test the potential of sequestering carbon dioxide in deep saline aquifers near the power plant. APS plans to start drilling the #1 Cholla CO2 stratigraphic test in late March or April 2009.

Oil production totaled 51,575 barrels from 21 producing wells in 2008, up from 42,692 barrels from 18 wells in 2007. Gas production totaled 523 million cubic feet from 6 producing gas wells, down from 650 million cubic feet from 7 wells in 2007. No CO2 was produced in 2008. There are currently fourteen storage wells in subsurface salt near Phoenix and Holbrook. About 180 million gallons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) were transferred through these storage wells in 2008.

There were 1.376 million acres leased for oil and gas in Arizona at year end 2008, up from the 1.075 million acres at year end 2007. Oil and gas leases on State Trust land totaled 1.018 million acres in December 2008, up from 707,000 acres in December 2007. Federal land leased in December 2008 totaled 358,000 acres, down from 368,000 acres in December 2007.

The Oil and Gas Conservation Commission held four regular meetings in 2008. Ms. Katosha Nakai, appointed by Governor Napolitano to replace Robert Wagner (Mesa), withdrew from the Commission in early 2009 to join Governor Jan Brewer’s administration. The Commission’s next meeting is scheduled for April 17, 2009 in Phoenix. Links to rules and statutes and other information about oil and gas in Arizona may be found online at azogcc.az.gov .